I AM tired of John Ahern of Indaver constantly
telling the Irish people to grow up. We have taken the responsibility
to research and inform ourselves about the health risks of incineration
and the threat to the environment.

We have listened to experts in the medical field
and scientists from the US, Canada, The Netherlands and Britain. These
include chemical engineers, toxicologists and doctors.

We have contacts with groups in over 90 countries
who are opposing incineration, including groups from Asia, South Africa,
Germany and Macedonia. We know there are exciting new technologies
based on the concepts of zero waste, clean technology and toxic use
reduction. These don’t carry the risks of incineration and are
functioning in other parts of the world.

We know that if Ireland is to succeed in its
commitments to the Kyoto agreement, the Stockholm convention and other
international directives, incineration is definitely not the route
to take.

We have looked at Indaver’s record. Running
an incinerator that is in breach of dioxin emission levels by over
1,000 times the permitted limit doesn’t create confidence. We
are no longer naive enough to believe the spin put on figures which
any primary schoolchild could tell you don’t add up.

We know there are firms in Ireland waiting for
the opportunity to introduce new strategies to deal with our waste,
strategies which could create thousands of jobs and prevent problems
with toxic waste landfill sites. Incineration is outdated, unnecessary
and unsustainable.